November 14, 2017

Three mothers of young girls who were sexually assaulted by a male acquaintance, and two of the victims themselves, addressed the Brighton Board of Education at its meeting Monday night.

Two of the girls - one, 13 and the other 14 – recounted their experiences of being sexually assaulted by a student. One is a Brighton High School freshman while the other goes to another area school.

The rapist, a BHS junior, is currently serving a 45-day sentence at the Monroe County Youth Center. That was the sentence meted out by a Livingston County juvenile court referee and reaffirmed by Juvenile Court Judge David Reader.

The parents and the girls are concerned because the offender will be home for the holidays and will be admitted to an outpatient program for sex offenders. That was contrary to the plea agreement, in which he was to be admitted to an in-patient residential sex offender facility.

One of the girls told the board that assemblies should be scheduled to explain to students the seriousness of what happened to her and the others and the potential outcome of such actions. The other girl who addressed the board said she went public so that what happened to her and the other victims wouldn’t happen to anybody else.

All three parents of the victims addressed the board as well, imploring the board to permanently expel the offender, who is 16. Outside the meeting room, the mother of the 14-year-old girl said that if the boy is re-admitted to Brighton High, she would pull her daughter out of the school, where she is enrolled as a freshman.

The mother of the 13-year-old said she “would like (the offender) to become a productive member of society,” but maintained that wouldn’t happen “without proper treatment and counseling.” (TT)